<p>I'm considering double majoring in EE and ME at UC Davis. I'm not sure if this is a good idea because it might be too much for me. Also these majors are pretty separate from each other with only a few classes in common. Usually at Davis people would double major in AE and ME and CS and EE. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>why do you want to double major…would it be intended for professional prospects or self fulfillment?</p>
<p>both majors are very interesting to me. so to answer your questions, i woudl have to say BOTH!</p>
<p>It’s completely unnecessary but do it if you want.</p>
<p>After college, the lines between the disciplines become a lot more fuzzy and we all work together. At my current position, we all do the same job whether ME or EE.</p>
<p>There are very few jobs that will allow you to use what you’ve learned in both degrees. Working at a small company might be better. Generally work responsibilities are wider.</p>
<p>so I don’t know about professional prospects…double majoring wouldn’t seem like a smart move; you could instead have your M.S done in the same time or less</p>
<p>but for personal fulfillment I’d recommend picking one major and then delegating your tech electives to 300 coursework in areas outside your major…say as an ME if you can take electricity and magnetism or other fundamental coursework outside ME but you need to plan ahead with your tech electives so you meet the pre-req’s</p>
<p>Totally agree with cyclone. It is very possible to get a BSME and a MSEE. This would make much more sense than a double major in the two. Double majoring isn’t like double majoring in business or many other majors. A double major in engineering would take at least 6 years while I know people that can triple major in business subjects and graduate in 4. Engineers are required to take many core classes in their specific major particularly junior and senior year.</p>
<p>No. It’s easy to say that you want to double major in this and that when you have no idea about how much work it is . . .</p>
<p>I’ve never seen a requirement to hire someone with a double BS - plenty of MS stipulations out there though.</p>
<p>are there any career benefits at all for double majoring in these two fields? you guys make it seem like there are none!!</p>
<p>There’s tons of benefits in being a double major, but none of them include salary!</p>
<p>Engineering is the kind of field that you have to have the piece of paper (BS engineering degree) to get the engineering job, and then on-the-job training becomes a lot more important.</p>
<p>People that hire engineers usually pay all the engineers at the firm the same amount, excluding of course years of service. It’s not like two engineers with 6 years of experience will be paid drastically different amount (say $100,000 for one engineer and $70,000 for the other engineer). Extra degrees can help some in terms of pay but not a lot.</p>
<p>Outside of pay, there are huge rewards to having a dual EE/ME degree. You get twice the number of jobs that you are qualified to work in. You can get hired as an EE or as a ME depending on what the market demands. You can talk to electrical engineers as an electrical engineer and mechanical engineers as a mechanical engineer. </p>
<p>The problem is that electrical and mechanical engineering are very different fields with very different class requirements for the junior and senior year. I think you’d have to do 2 extra years of school, which means 2 years of your life that you aren’t earning $60,000 a year. Is it worth reducing your lifetime earnings by $120,000 to get a second degree? I don’t think so.</p>
<p>i understand…but both fields are so interesting!! i kinda want to make an ironman suit lol. I feel that are so many interesting fields to study in but i hate how time permits to only one or two =/</p>
<p>it’s not just one or two…ME and EE together encompass almost everything…so there are so many choices of topics within each of those majors…</p>
<p>I like your enthusiasm though, that’s the most important quality to have in engineering undergrad</p>
<p>just major in whatever one is more interesting and go to graduate school and make your thesis something crazy that blends the two together:</p>
<p>for example: a multi-core (EE) computer that posses enough A.I. (EE again) to surf waves (wave mechanics- ME). the computer would ahve to intake lots of information, so you’d have to learn loads about signal processing i guess…
also, give it some weird battery engine that has to be developed new (ME)</p>
<p>stop looking at labels (aka majors) and think about what knowledge you walk out the door with. and dont think that learning occurs only in the classroom.
give yourself a project and say “what topics do i need to know to accomplish this?” then pick up a book and get working.</p>
<p>The problem is that ME and EE are each such vast fields themselves. You absolutely have to specialize within each major in order to do anything significant. Being a generalist will not help your career options much.</p>
<p>In order to build an Iron Man suit, I would suggest majoring in Computer Engineering with a focus on embedded systems, robotics, and estimation and control. While estimation and control is the most critical concentration (and is usually cross-listed between EE, ME, and ChemE), having a strong understanding of computer systems and programming is also very important (hence the embedded systems).</p>
<p>My background is in embedded systems and robotics, which is as close you can get to an Iron Man suit right now.</p>